How a 20-Year-Old Producer Turned ‘Cheerleader’ Into a Global Smash
How long did it take for the song to start getting big?
That’s actually really weird. If you think that the original song is from 2012 and I produced the remix in January, 2014, and it was released in May, then it took ages. October, in Sweden, it was the first to top the charts, then early 2015 it started growing in Europe — Germany, Austria, U.K., everywhere. And now we have July, August already, and it’s taken America, and it’s still growing in many countries. It’s kind of crazy how long it takes for a song a song to find its way.
My current single, “Aint Nobody,” was already eight weeks Number One in Germany and it hasn’t even really yet started in the United States and other countries. Actually [I] think it’s quite weird, because you’d imagine that everything is connected worldwide and happening at the same time. But it’s still happening at different times with different countries.
Are you prepared to be performing in front of larger and larger crowds?
Yeah, definitely. The crowds are growing week-by-week, essentially, and I’m mostly excited about coming to America, which is going to be next Tuesday. It’ll be my first time touring the U.S. The crowds are getting bigger, and the places are getting more exciting.
Do you have any more collaborations in the works?
I’m always working on a lot of new music, but right now, my main focus is my own studio album, which I’m writing at the moment. There is nothing really concrete or planned yet for featured artists. I did some remixes for Giorgio Moroder, Sia and Ed Sheeran just recently, which was a great thing and honor.
Have you met Omi yet?
Not yet, unfortunately. Just recently I dropped him a message and he sent one back via a radio station in Germany because they both had us on the phone. So I kind of talked to him via radio station, which is insane. We really have to make that happen. But he’s got a lot of stuff to do right now and I also do, and most of the time we’re at different places of the world, so it’s hard to make it happen. Eventually it will, I guess.